APRIL 6 (GMT) – APRIL 7 (AEST), 2020

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

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NORTH AMERICA UK

‘Glimmers of progress’ give hope Boris still ‘very much in charge’ Virus peak ‘may be behind us’

The US surgeon general has said that Prime Minister remains The peak of new coronavirus cases in Americans should brace for levels of “very much in charge” of the Government Australia may already be behind us, tragedy reminiscent of the September 11 despite spending the night in hospital but a quarter of all deaths from the attacks and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, with persistent coronavirus symptoms, a disease have occurred in the past two while the nation’s infectious disease chief Cabinet minister has said. Johnson was days. Deputy chief medical officer Paul has warned that the new coronavirus admitted to a NHS hospital in London Kelly said the significant slowdown in may never be completely eradicated from on Sunday for tests on the advice of his the rate of new cases each day showed the globe. Those were some of the most doctor after continuing to run a high the restrictions on daily life and social grim assessments yet for the immediate temperature. Downing Street described distancing measures had successfully future and beyond. the move as a “precautionary step”. flattened the curve. But he was cautious about predicting that rate wouldn’t go up again.

NORTH AMERICA UK

Fury over US mask ban ‘Anomaly’ costs firms millions NZ to ‘stay the course’

The premier of a Canadian province More than 3650 small shops, pubs The PM does not want New Zealand to that sheltered thousands of stranded and restaurants are each set to lose be at level four for “a minute longer than American airline passengers after the out on £15,000 of Government grant needed”, but says there is no plan to lift 9/11 attacks questioned the humanity of funding due to an “anomaly”, according it earlier than the planned four weeks. US President Donald Trump after Trump to real estate experts. Councils have As New Zealand approaches the halfway banned the export of N95 protective been provided with billions of pounds point of the four-week lockdown, Ardern masks to Canada. The conservative of cash to offer hospitality and retail said the country needed to stay the leader of another province compared businesses grants of up to £25,000 to course. “We can expect to see cases and it to one family member feasting while help mitigate the impact of coronavirus. contacts of those cases coming through. letting another one starve. Businesses with a rateable value of more “We also need to better understand the than £15,000 will be eligible for the full cases of community transmission.” £25,000 grant.

1 APRIL 6 (GMT) – APRIL 7 (AEST), 2020

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

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REST OF THE WORLD REST OF THE WORLD AUSTRALIA

Window to push Taiwan’s status Grocery workers key, yet afraid Bomb test show shark’s age

The Trump administration is seizing the Every day, grocery workers are restocking Cold War atomic bomb testing has opportunity of the coronavirus pandemic toilet paper, eggs, produce and canned helped scientists correctly determine to push a cause that has long been goods as fast as the items fly off the the age of whale sharks for the first an irritant in US relations with China: shelves. They disinfect keypads, freezer time to help ensure the future of the Taiwan. The virus has added yet another handles and checkout counters as endangered and protected species. Until dimension to US-China tensions that hundreds of people weave around now, the age of the sharks has been were already wracked by a trade war them, sometimes standing too close for difficult to measure, as sharks and rays and heated discussions over intellectual comfort amid the coronavirus pandemic. lack bony structures that are used to age property, human rights and Chinese Some work for hours behind clear plastic other fish. A team of researchers from policies in Hong Kong and the South barriers installed at checkout counters, the Australian Institute of Marine Science China Sea. bulwarks against sudden sneezes or in Perth, turned to the radioactive legacy coughs that can propel germs. of the Cold War’s nuclear arms race.

REST OF THE WORLD REST OF THE WORLD NEW ZEALAND

Fears as cyclone neras Vanuatu China blamed for disinformation Clusters ‘significant’ as cases rise

Relief agencies are warning of incredible Disinformation about the coronavirus There are 39 new confirmed cases of destruction in Vanuatu as Tropical pandemic propagated by China and Covid-19 and 28 new probable cases in Cyclone Harold bears down on the other countries is costing lives and New Zealand, bringing the country to Pacific country as a category-five system. hindering the fight against the disease, a total of 1106, the Health Ministry has Five years after Cyclone Pam brought British MPs have warned. The Commons confirmed. Director-General of Health Dr 250km/h winds to the country, killing Foreign Affairs Committee said that Ashley Bloomfield said 13 people were in dozens and displacing thousands, as the country where the outbreak hospital, and three were in ICU – one in Vanuatuans are bunkering down once originated, China should have played and two in Auckland. One of more. The system made landfall with a central role in collecting data on its the people in ICU is in a critical condition. the biggest island of Vanuatu, Espiritu spread. Santo, on Monday afternoon (local time) according to Radio NZ.

2 APRIL 6 (GMT) – APRIL 7 (AEST), 2020

Vice President Mike Pence speaks as President Donald Trump listens during a coronavirus Canada’s Prime Minister . - AP task force briefing at the White House. - AP

NORTH AMERICA NORTH AMERICA ‘Glimmers of progress’ Premier ‘infuriated’ in virus fight give hope over US mask ban

The US surgeon general has said that Americans should The premier of a Canadian province that sheltered brace for levels of tragedy reminiscent of the September thousands of stranded American airline passengers 11 attacks and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, while the after the 9/11 attacks questioned the humanity of US nation’s infectious disease chief has warned that the President Donald Trump after Trump banned the export new coronavirus may never be completely eradicated of N95 protective masks to Canada. from the globe. The conservative leader of another province compared it to Those were some of the most grim assessments yet for the one family member feasting while letting another one starve. immediate future and beyond. But hours later, President And yet another premier said it reminded him of 1939 and Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence tried to strike 1940, when Canada was part of the fight against global fascism more optimistic tones, suggesting that hard weeks ahead could while the sat out the first years. mean beginning to turn a corner. Canadians across the country expressed hurt and “We’re starting to see light at the end of the tunnel,” Trump disappointment that their neighbor and longstanding ally is said at an evening White House briefing. Pence added, “We are blocking shipments of the masks from the United States to beginning to see glimmers of progress.” ensure they are available in the US during the coronavirus The president also insisted that both assessments from his pandemic. Canadian health care workers – like those in the US administration – they came within 12 hours of each other – – are in dire need of the masks that provide more protection didn’t represent an about-face or were even “that different.” against the virus that causes COVID-19. “I think we all know that we have to reach a certain point – Newfoundland Premier Dwight Ball said one of the great and that point is going to be a horrific point in terms of death – lessons in humanity is that in times of crisis you don’t stop but it’s also a point at which things are going to start changing,” being human. Trump said. “We’re getting very close to that level right now.” “To say that I’m infuriated by the recent actions of President The president added that he thought the next two weeks Trump of the United States is an understatement,” Ball said. “are going to be very difficult. At the same time, we understand “I cannot believe for a second that in a time of crisis that what they represent and what that time represents and, President Trump would even think about banning key medical hopefully, we can get this over with.” supplies to Canada.” Still, Trump’s own briefing also struck a somber tone at Ball noted that in 2001, more than 6600 passengers times. The president offered some of his most extensive descended on Gander, Newfoundland, a town of 10,000 comments to date to the families of those killed by the virus, without warning as more than 200 flights were diverted to urging the nation to pray for them and “ask God to comfort Canada following the attacks on the United States. them in their hour of grief.” Flight crews filled Gander’s hotels, so passengers were taken “With the faith of our families and the spirit of our people to schools, fire stations and church halls. The Canadian military and the grace of our God we will endure,” the president said. flew in 5000 cots. Stores donated blankets, coffee machines “We will overcome.” and barbecue grills. ■ Earlier, Surgeon General Jerome Adams said, “This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly.” ■

3 APRIL 6 (GMT) – APRIL 7 (AEST), 2020

Prime Minister Boris Johnson. - AP A quiet high street in West Bridgford, Nottingham as the UK continues in lockdown to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. - PA

UK UK Johnson still ‘very ‘Anomaly’ costs firms much in charge’ millions in funding

Prime Minister Boris Johnson remains “very much in More than 3650 small shops, pubs and restaurants charge” of the Government despite spending the night are each set to lose out on £15,000 of Government in hospital with persistent coronavirus symptoms, grant funding due to an “anomaly”, according to real a Cabinet minister has said. estate experts.

Johnson was admitted to a NHS hospital in London for Councils have been provided with billions of pounds of cash to tests on the advice of his doctor after continuing to run offer hospitality and retail businesses grants of up to £25,000 a high temperature. to help mitigate the impact of coronavirus. Downing Street described the move as a “precautionary Businesses with a rateable value of more than £15,000 will step”, insisting that he continued to lead the Government, and be eligible for the full £25,000 grant. remained in touch with ministers and senior officials. Meanwhile, firms with a value of £15,000 or less will only be Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick stressed it was not an eligible for £10,000 grants. emergency admission and that he expected him to be back in The Government introduced the threshold as companies Downing Street “shortly”. valued below £15,000 had previously been eligible for small “He’s been working extremely hard leading the Government business rates relief. and being constantly updated,” he said. However, this relief was tapered between £12,001 and “That’s going to continue. £15,000, meaning that firms with a rateable value of £12,001 “Obviously today he’s in hospital having the tests but he will would have their rates reduced by 100%, with the size of continue to be kept informed as to what’s happening and to be the cut reducing until those with a £15,000 valuation receive in charge of the Government. a 0 per cent cut. “I’m sure this is very frustrating for him, for somebody like Experts at real estate advisory firm Altus Group said this Boris who wants to be hands on running the Government means that there are thousands of companies with a valuation from the front, but nonetheless he’s still very much in charge of exactly £15,000, which have previously received no of the Government.” small business rates relief, but will now be ineligible for Nevertheless in Johnson’s absence, Dominic Raab, the the £25,000 grants. Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State, is expected It said Government figures reveal 3657 high street business to chair the Government’s daily coronavirus meeting on will only be able to receive £10,000 grants despite not receiving Monday (UK time). the previous benefit of small business rates relief. Meanwhile, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris If these firms were to have their valuations just one pound Whitty has recovered from his coronavirus symptoms and higher, they would be able to receive a further £15,000 each, is back at work. totalling £55 million for all firms, Altus said. Jenrick suggested the current lockdown measures could Robert Hayton, head of UK business rates at real estate be gradually eased “in the weeks to come”, although an exit adviser Altus Group, said: “This is an anomaly and obvious strategy would require much more testing. unfairness in the design of the grant funding scheme. He said there was currently “excess capacity” in intensive “It is particularly harsh on those businesses occupying a care units “across the country”, which had to be maintained to property with a rateable value of exactly £15,000. ■ ensure the NHS was not overwhelmed. ■

4 APRIL 6 (GMT) – APRIL 7 (AEST), 2020

- AAP Prime Minister . - AP

AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND Peak of virus spread New Zealand to ‘stay the ‘may be behind us’ course’ on lockdown

The peak of new coronavirus cases in Australia may The PM does not want New Zealand to be at level four for already be behind us, but a quarter of all deaths from “a minute longer than needed”, but says there is no plan the disease have occurred in the past two days. to lift it earlier than the planned four weeks.

Deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said the significant As New Zealand approaches the halfway point of the four-week slowdown in the rate of new cases each day showed the lockdown, Ardern said the country needed to stay the course. restrictions on daily life and social distancing measures had “We can expect to see cases and contacts of those cases successfully flattened the curve. coming through. But he was cautious about predicting that rate wouldn’t “We also need to better understand the cases of community go up again. transmission.” “The peak in terms of the daily cases indeed was last week She said New Zealand needed to be at level four for four or the week before, at the moment,” he said. weeks because it took time for symptoms to be seen and some “Whether that is the final peak, I can’t really say at this stage, people may have passed on COVID-19 before the lockdown it’s speculation.” and those symptoms will only just be starting to be seen now. So far there are 5795 people with coronavirus in Australia. “No matter what technology can offer us for contact tracing, Of these, 40 people have died – including five on Monday it will still be critical that we have those one-on-one interviews and five on Sunday. where we interrogate people.” But a number of states have reported lower numbers of new She said the country needed to be absolutely sure we’re not infections – even zero in the ACT. missing “silent outbreaks” and this was why surveillance testing Professor Kelly warned against younger people becoming was important. complacent, saying coronavirus was not just an older person’s Ardern also spoke about the issue of mental health while disease and there were a number of people aged in their addressing media after a meeting of Cabinet on the level 4 30s among the worst-affected patients now in intensive care national response to the COVID-19 outbreak. and on ventilators. The government is launching a campaign and resources to That said, the nation’s leaders and medical experts are now help New Zealanders cope with stresses created by COVID-19. starting to look at how and when to start easing the tough She said many people felt distressed, anxious or worried and restrictions in place to slow the disease’s spread. this was completely understandable. That will include a consideration of how prepared the “No-one should be too hard on themselves at this particular health system is for an increase in cases and what effect lifting point in time.” particular measures would have on new case numbers. She said the new campaign would focus on providing people “But I would say that people have been so far extraordinarily with the tools they needed “to be able to manage their worries, willing and able to change the way that they are living in look after their mental health and connect with loved ones, Australia, and I think that will come into play for some of those despite operating from their own bubbles at this time”. processes as well,” Kelly said. The Prime Minister has also confirmed that the COVID-19 Governments are concerned that people will be tempted to Wage Subsidy Scheme has paid out $5.3 billion to 876,000 breach restrictions on movements and social distancing rules New Zealanders. ■ over the coming Easter weekend. ■

5 APRIL 6 (GMT) – APRIL 7 (AEST), 2020

Taiwanese soldiers wearing protective suits spray disinfectant over a road during a drill to Debris washed up on a beach as Cyclone Harold batters the Solomon Islands. - RNZ prevent the spread of coronavirus in New Taipei City, Taiwan. - AP

REST OF THE WORLD REST OF THE WORLD Virus window a chance Grave fears as Cyclone to push Taiwan’s status Harold reaches Vanuatu

The Trump administration is seizing the opportunity Relief agencies are warning of incredible destruction in of the coronavirus pandemic to push a cause that has Vanuatu as Tropical Cyclone Harold bears down on the long been an irritant in US relations with China: Taiwan. Pacific country as a category-five system. The virus has added yet another dimension to US-China tensions that were already wracked by a trade war and Five years after Cyclone Pam brought 250km/h winds to the heated discussions over intellectual property, human country, killing dozens and displacing thousands, Vanuatuans rights and Chinese policies in Hong Kong and the South are bunkering down once more. China Sea. The system made landfall with the biggest island of Vanuatu, Espiritu Santo, on Monday afternoon (local time) according to And, while US-China differences over Taiwan have waxed and Radio NZ, and is on course to track through the archipelago waned for decades, they have persisted and are reaching new nation. heights as the world grapples with the exponential spread of “We are very concerned,” Save The Children’s Jacqui Southey the COVID-19 virus. As the pandemic has grown, US officials said. and lawmakers have stepped up alternately bashing China for “It’s going to be just as big, if not bigger, than Pam based on a lack of transparency over the outbreak and praising Taiwan what we know about it so far.” for its response to the outbreak. Harold is the region’s most powerful storm since 2018 and The administration is pressing for Taiwan’s inclusion as could yet grow stronger than Pam and Winston, the Southern a separate entity in international organisations like the Hemisphere’s biggest storm on record, which devastated World Health Organization and International Civil Aviation in 2016. Organization, both of which have significant roles in anti-virus Harold developed near before tracking efforts. But, it is more broadly pushing back against Beijing’s east and crossing the Solomon Islands as a category-two recent diplomatic victories over Taipei that have included system. several small countries abandoning diplomatic recognition of There, 27 people were reportedly swept overboard from a Taiwan in favour of China. ferry which defied orders to head out into storm waters. In the past 10 days, the administration has taken at least two In recent days it has gained strength and tracked directly specific overt steps to boost Taiwan, which China regards as a towards Vanuatu, a country of around 300,000 people. renegade province, in the international arena. Fijian Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama said the cyclone Aware of the moves, China’s government has been pushing “couldn’t come at a worse time” for the Pacific given the back. Taiwan has developed its own identity since separating outbreak of COVID-19. from China during civil war in 1949, but has never declared “Flights are grounded, foreign aid workers have withdrawn, formal independence. Beijing still claims sovereignty over the and medical supplies are limited. The world must be prepared island of 23 million people and threatens to use force to seize to respond to this disaster at our doorsteps,” he said. control if necessary. Southey said the Australian and New Zealand Governments Last week, the State Department announced it had had contributed to placing supplies in Vanuatu and across convened a virtual conference to promote “expanding the region to ensure access to immediate assistance in the Taiwan’s participation on the global stage.” ■ aftermath of cyclones. ■

6 APRIL 6 (GMT) – APRIL 7 (AEST), 2020

A grocery store worker disinfects the conveyor belt between serving customers. - AP Residents pass by barriers removed from around a community as the city of Wuhan slowly loosen up ahead of a lifting of the two month long lockdown. - AP

REST OF THE WORLD REST OF THE WORLD Grocery workers key China blamed for during virus, yet afraid ‘disinformation’

Every day, grocery workers are restocking toilet paper, Disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic eggs, produce and canned goods as fast as the items fly propagated by China and other countries is costing off the shelves. lives and hindering the fight against the disease, British MPs have warned. They disinfect keypads, freezer handles and checkout counters as hundreds of people weave around them, sometimes The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said that as the standing too close for comfort amid the coronavirus pandemic. country where the outbreak originated, China should have Some work for hours behind clear plastic barriers installed played a central role in collecting data on its spread. at checkout counters, bulwarks against sudden sneezes or Instead, the committee said that right from the outset Beijing coughs that can propel germs. had sought to “obfuscate” over what was really happening. They aren’t doctors or nurses, yet they have been praised for It called on the UK Government, working with international their dedication by Pope Francis, former US President Barack allies, to actively “confront and rebut” disinformation coming Obama and countless people on social media, as infections from foreign powers. and death counts rise. In its the report, the committee also named Iran and Russia From South Africa to Italy to the US, grocery workers – many as being responsible for disseminating false information in low-wage jobs – are manning the frontlines amid worldwide about the Covid-19 virus and suggested other countries lockdowns, their work deemed essential to keep food and were also involved. critical goods flowing. Some fear falling sick or bringing the Its main criticism, however, was reserved for China. It virus home to vulnerable loved ones, and frustration is highlighted the way Li Wenliang, the doctor in Wuhan who mounting as some demand better workplace protections, first raised the alarm about the new disease, was forced to including shorter hours to allow them to rest, and “hazard” pay confess to “making false comments” before his death from for working closely with the public. the virus in February. “Everyone is scared everywhere, here in South Africa and “Such deliberate misleading of the WHO (World Health everywhere in the world,” said Zandile Mlotshwa, a cashier at Organisation) and scientists in other countries obscured Spar supermarket in the Johannesburg suburb of Norwood. analysis in the critical early stages of the pandemic,” the For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate committee said. symptoms, such as fever and cough, and the vast majority “Disinformation about COVID-19 has already cost lives. It is survive. But for others, especially older adults and people with essential that the Government issues clear and transparent existing health problems, it can be more severe, even causing messages at home to confront and rebut disinformation pneumonia or death. spread by foreign powers. In the US, a handful of states – Minnesota and Vermont were “It must also work closely with allies to present a united the first – have given grocery workers a special classification front where possible, and to help ensure that vital international that allows them to put their children in state-paid child care research efforts are not compromised by propaganda and while they work. Unions in Colorado, Alaska, Texas and many bad data.” other states are pressing governors to elevate grocery workers Committee chairman Tom Tugendhat said Beijing had initially to the status of first responders. ■ “allowed disinformation to spread as quickly as the virus”. ■

7 APRIL 6 (GMT) – APRIL 7 (AEST), 2020

- AAP Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. - AP

AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND Cold War bomb test Coronavirus clusters reveals shark’s age ‘significant’, cases rise

Cold War atomic bomb testing has helped scientists There are 39 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 28 new correctly determine the age of whale sharks for the first probable cases in New Zealand, bringing the country to a time to help ensure the future of the endangered and total of 1106, the Health Ministry has confirmed. protected species. Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said Until now, the age of the sharks has been difficult to measure, 13 people were in hospital, and three were in ICU – one in as sharks and rays lack bony structures that are used to age Wellington and two in Auckland. One of the people in ICU other fish. is in a critical condition. A team of researchers, including Dr Mark Meekan, from the “Two people have been discharged from hospital since our Australian Institute of Marine Science in Perth, turned to the update yesterday and are recovering at home,” he said. radioactive legacy of the Cold War’s nuclear arms race. There have been no additional deaths and 176 people have During the 1950s and 1960s, the US, the Soviet Union, Great now recovered from the coronavirus. Britain, France and China conducted tests of nuclear weapons, He said New Zealand could be encouraged by daily case many of which were detonated several kilometres in the air. numbers staying at a similar level, but health authorities were One result of the blasts was an atmospheric doubling of an still looking for a drop. isotope called carbon-14. “Some success so far, but our aim is to stamp it out,” Carbon-14 is commonly used by archaeologists and Bloomfield said. historians to date ancient bones and artefacts due to its Just under 40,000 tests have been carried out so far. There constant rate of decay. were 3709 tests completed yesterday, the highest number of The isotope gradually moves through food webs tests in one single day. into living animals and plants, producing an elevated Bloomfield said there were now 12 significant clusters, carbon-14 signature. with 72 cases linked to the Marist College cluster. The cluster Scientists have found distinct bands in whale shark associated with a wedding in Bluff now has 62 cases, and the vertebrae. Matamata cluster has 58. Measuring the radioisotope levels in successive growth rings He confirmed the new Christchurch cluster was based at allowed a clear determination of how often they were created, Rosewood rest home, with 15 confirmed and probable cases giving an indication of the shark’s age. amongst residents and staff. Using bomb radiocarbon data, Meekan and his team Twenty residents are being moved to Burwood Hospital for conducted testing of two deceased whale sharks in Pakistan further care. and Taiwan. “They have put a DHB person into the rest home to “We found that one growth ring was definitely deposited supervise the care of the remaining 40 residents, to make every year,” he said. sure appropriate infection prevention control – including “This is very important, because if you over or under- appropriate use of PPE – is happening there to look after estimate growth rates you will inevitably end up with a and care for those remaining residents,” Bloomfield said. ■ management strategy that doesn’t work, and you’ll see the population crash.” ■

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